Karoline Leavitt, 28, didn’t just get swept up in the fallout — she’s now sitting right in the middle of it.
Any day now President Donald Trump’s spokeswoman is set to give birth to her second child with her husband, Nicolas Riccio, 60. She and her husband recently pointed remarks about a White House event that didn’t land as jokes — and definitely didn’t sound random.
After the shooting and the chaos that followed, it reads differently. Now those comments are circulating again, side by side with the timeline, and Leavitt’s next move as the backlash continues to build.
The timing of her and her husband’s comments has people doubling back, replaying what was said, and picking through it line by line.
Leavitt went out with a bang after what took place Saturday night in remarks on April 27.
She and her husband were among Trump’s staffers and Cabinet members who attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., on April 25.
A lone shooter, identified as suspect 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, allegedly interrupted the event with gunfire. Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vance, and several others crawled or walked to a safe exit.
Leavitt answered questions about having her maternity leave interrupted by another Trump emergency. She had been just three days postpartum with Niko when a shooter grazed Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024.
“Um, it’s sort of crazy timing when you put it that way for both children with two assassination attempts against the president,” Leavitt stated. “I’m honored to work in this job. I view this job as the president’s spokesperson and the White House spokeswoman as public service.
She added, “It’s not just any job. I’m honored to do it and I’m honored to work and speak on behalf of President Trump who has faced unprecedented um adversity and challenges and I’m honored to work for him.”
Leavitt revealed she and her husband were expecting a baby girl in a December 2025 announcement. They are already parents to son Niko, born in July 2024. She clocked in on day four of her break that year.
“I hope and pray this is the last time I speak with you until I return from my maternity leave,” she concluded her hearing.
Leavitt did not name an interim replacement. Instead, she directed the media to follow her team of deputy press secretaries and assistants. She shared each person’s name and social media account on X, where her followers suggested Robert F. Kennedy Jr. take her place.
“I really want that guy with the weird voice to stand in for her,” said one person. “He is particularly good value… especially if he is given lots of data and charts and numbers to interpret. We can all sit around pissing ourselves laughing.”
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A critic snarked, “Hopefully she looking for a new job in the process. While she is on maternity leave I’m sure he will be coming up with a legal reason on why he can fire her, so he can hire a man in her place.”
Another said, “If she’s smart, she won’t come back to work. It would be the easiest way to bow out. I wonder what she’ll do.”
Trump’s “superstar” press secretary was also present when the president addressed the nation from the White House at the shooting. He was unharmed but refused to let the latest attempt on his life disrupt plans.
Photos of Leavitt show her with a smug grin, at times holding back laughter despite being put in harm’s way hours earlier.
One person commented, “Maybe Karoline is happy that she ditched that old husband. Another said, “She said ‘shots will be fired.’”
Leavitt giddily told Fox News about Trump’s speech before heading into the venue.
“He is ready to rumble. … There will be some shots fired tonight in the room, so everyone should tune in,” she said.
What is the first thing you notice?
— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) April 26, 2026
You can’t unsee it. pic.twitter.com/SWTibAt8gB
Riccio warned, “You need to be very safe,” while speaking with reporter Aishah Hanse inside the hotel.
Her account of the interaction cut out during Fox’s telecast, sparking questions about the warning. She later clarified that Riccio was speaking about the world being crazy, not a heads-up about the shooting. Critics doubt her claim.
She told Fox News, “The president literally put his life on the line to win this election. The least I could do is get back to work quickly.”
Last year, she admitted to having PTSD and an inability to make personal plans as a result of attending to Trump’s every beck and call. “We just roll with it. If there’s a night where I happen to become free, then we take full advantage of that as a family,” she told Daily Mail.
A heckler theorized that Leavitt is too fearful of losing her job to take a break. They wrote, “If she’s out of the office, she won’t be able to defend herself from the in-house criticism that she should be fired.”
“She loves him more than anyone or anything,” said a second person. Leavitt and Riccio have been married since January 2025. She has worked for Trump since 2024, when she served as a press secretary for his reelection campaign.
